Libyan rebels say they have captured a large complex of underground weapons bunkers from Muammar Gaddafi's forces in the west of Libya, the BBC reports.
The BBC reports that NATO forces had attacked the area days before, and the news came as a key US Senate panel voted Tuesday to authorize limited US strikes on Libya, as part of the NATO-led campaign.
But the panel forbade the deployment of ground troops.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee's 14-5 vote set the stage for what was sure to be a volatile full Senate debate as early as this week, with lawmakers deeply divided on whether President Barack Obama's Libya policy flouts US law, AFP reports.
The panel heard earlier from US State Department legal adviser Harold Koh, who argued Obama's approach did not violate the US Constitution or the 1973 War Powers Resolution that aims to constrain presidential war-making authority.
"This administration is acting lawfully, consistent with both the letter and spirit of the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution," said Koh, who allowed that consultations and communications with the congress could have been better.
The panel acted days after the US House of Representatives defeated a bill to authorize US operations against Libya and rejected another measure that would have cut funding for direct US combat strikes on Libyan targets.
